Gesundheit
by Tollian
Summary: When strange new enemies come to Metru Nui and the Toa Metru find themselves captured, their only hope lies in . . . Matau's cold? Based on Saya Moonshadow's The Road Not Taken.


- **Author's Note**: This story for Saya Moonshadow who asked if someone would make an omake of her story The Road Not Taken. If you haven't read it yet, go do so. It's an amazing story! The title, gesundheit (pronounced gez-une-tight), means health in German and you say it when someone sneezes. Um, I think that's all for now. So, read and enjoy!-

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Bionicle, LEGO does. Many plot elements including Vakama's banishment, Matau's sneeze, and Pyro's name belong to Saya Moonshadow. But the Lackertila do belong to me.

Gesundheit

"Where _is_ he?"

Nokama opened her eyes and blearily looked over at her annoyed brother. _I must have fallen asleep_, she thought groggily. The Water Toa yawned and blinked a couple of times to bring the world into focus and took in the situation. All was quiet in the small room where she and her brothers were waiting. Nuju was leaning on the wall by a dark window, watching the rain outside. Whenua was sitting in one of the room's two comfy chairs, busily reading a rather large book. Nokama herself was in the other chair. Onewa was the only one moving, pacing furiously back and forth, looking at the clock on the wall and growling.

"I swear," he said. "If Matau is two hours late _again_, I will kill him!"

"Keep in mind," Nuju said calmly. "This is Matau we're talking about."

"This will be the third time this month," the Stone Toa reminded. "He needs to start taking these meetings seriously."

"It's not as if we _do_ anything at these meetings," mumbled Nuju, not taking his gaze from the night rain outside.

Onewa turned to face the Toa of Ice and opened to mouth to say something, but thought better of it. Nokama sighed with relief. She really didn't want to break up another fight between her brothers.

"You're awake."

Nokama turned to Whenua, who was looking a little sleepy himself.

Nokama nodded. "How long was I asleep?" she asked.

The Earth Toa shrugged. "Mm, not long. Fifteen minutes maybe."

"Did I miss anything?"

"Nope. Onewa's been pacing, Nuju's been at that window, and Matau's still no where to be seen."

"And yourself?" the blue Toa asked.

"I've been really, _really_ bored," Whenua replied, smiling.

"And what about Vak—" she started before snapping her mouth shut. Nokama closed her eyes to avoid Whenua's sympathizing gaze. _No, there's no Vakama_, she reminded herself. _It's been six months since his banishment! I really need to stop acting like he's still here. For all we know, he could be . . . well, he's gone. Let's leave it at that. _She opened her eyes and was surprised to find them blurred with tears. Quickly faking a yawn, she rubbed them away before anyone could notice.

"Maybe someone should go look for the airhead," Onewa muttered, breaking the silence in the little room.

"Why?" asked Nuju, turning to look at the Toa of Stone.

"I hate him too, but like it or not he _is _a part of the team."

"No, I mean, what's the point of looking for him?"

"He might have gotten lost."

Nuju's eyes narrowed. "We agreed to meeting in the Coliseum because it's impossible to miss. You can see it from all over the city; all you have to do is walk in its general direction and you'll get here."

It was Onewa's turn to narrow his gaze. "Well, sorry for making a suggestion."

"You're not just making a suggestion, Onewa. You're trying to be a leader."

"What's wrong with that?" the brown Toa asked. "Someone has to do it!"

"No. They don't."

"If you'd bother to take your head out of the stars for a few moments you'd notice that our team hasn't exactly been working very well since V . . . it just hasn't. We need a leader to pull us together."

As Nuju straightened and turned to fully face the Toa of Stone, Nokama stood up and announced loudly, "I'll go and look for Matau!"

Everyone turned to look at the Toa of Water.

"He's probably close," she continued in a light tone. "I won't be more than fifteen minutes."

"I'll come with you," Whenua offered, closing his book and also standing. "It might be hard to see out there with all that rain. You might need someone with night vision."

"Thanks, Whenua, that'd be nice."

"Fine," Onewa consented. "But don't be long."

Nokama nodded and started towards the door, Whenua following. She was reaching for the door when it burst open with a bang. A dark, dripping figure stood hunched over in the doorway. The blue Toa yelped and jumped back as the figure lurched and a great sound escaped its mouth.

"ACHOO!!"

"Gesundheit, Matau," Whenua said calmly, patting the startled Nokama on the back.

Matau, dripping wet and looking positively ill, took out a handkerchief and blew his nose. "Dank you, Whedua. Sorry for scaring you, Dokama."

"That's fine," the blue Toa assured, feeling rather foolish for screaming. "You okay? You don't look so good."

This was true. Usually, Matau was pretty decent-looking, as he often boasted, and he tried to keep up his appearance. But now the green Toa was pale, a little shaky and looked exhausted. This wasn't helped by the fact that he was dripping wet and shivering. His voice was hoarse and gravelly as the Toa of Air gave a half-hearted grin and replied, "Hah. I dew you cared for me."

"You sound sick," she continued.

The green Toa shrugged. "Nah. I just god a cold."

"Well, you better get in and warm yourself up. Standing there dripping won't help you get better."

Matau nodded and obediently followed Nokama back inside, sneezing twice on the way in.

"And_where_ exactly have _you_ been?" Onewa asked once Matau was seated.

The Toa of Air glared at Onewa through red-rimmed eyes. "Doing by job-duty, oh mighdy leader. Whad have _you_ beed doig?"

"Waiting for _you_," the stone Toa replied. "And what do you mean? Is there a threat to the city?"

Once more, the green Toa shrugged. "I duddo. You decide." He handed the brown Toa a stone tablet and began his explanation. "There've beed some call-repords aboud mysderious figures around Le-Medru. I've beed out in the raid collectig eye widdess reports." That said he began coughing into his handkerchief.

"What's he saying?" Nuju asked.

Onewa inspected the tablet and Nuju walked over to look over his shoulder. "'Tall, thin dark-shadows,'" Onewa read aloud. "'Been sighted creep-sneaking around the Moto-Hub and around crowded chute junctions. Seen in groups of two or three. No damage so far, but a few reports of thievery. Objects missing include blankets, food, repair tools, light stones, and cables. No threat to the Matoran so far.'"

"Are you sure this isn't just a group of Matoran thieves?" Nuju asked.

"Keep readig," Matau mumbled through his handkerchief, blowing his nose loudly afterwards.

The Stone Toa shrugged and continued. "'Two separate reports claimed the shadows looked like . . . giant lizards?'"

Matau nodded. "Doen'd exactly sound like ady Madoran _I_ dow."

"Well, Whenua? Sound familiar?"

"Thieving lizards?" Whenua mused, shaking his head. "No, I don't think so. I know a lot of lizard Rahi, but none that steal from Matoran."

"So . . . what does that leave us with?"

The room was silent once more with the exception of the occasional cough from Matau.

"Way to go for participation, guys," Onewa said dully.

"Well, it says they just _looked_ like lizards. Maybe they aren't Rahi," offered Nuju.

"Or they could be intelligent Rahi. It wouldn't be the first time," added Nokama.

"But why would they steal?" the white Toa asked.

"Maybe they don't know they're stealing. They see food and they take it."

"But they know enough to hide."

"In any case," Onewa said. "I think Matau's right: this is worth looking into. I want to know more about these . . . things. Nokama, Nuju: you two will go and report to Turaga Dume."

"There you go with the leader thing again," Nuju mumbled.

Onewa glared in his direction but continued undaunted. "Whenua, you and I will start drawing up some plans to catch these guys."

A loud sneeze caused everyone to turn to Matau.

"And you, Matau: get better."

-------------------------------

Nokama fretfully fidgeted with her fingers behind her back, feeling like a Rahi trapped in a cage. She couldn't help it: ever since the Visorak invasion, the Coliseum made her anxious. Although Turaga Dume's office was small and relatively cozy, the feeling was still there, permeating the walls like a chill. The plaques showing different kinds of masks didn't help to distract her and the bookshelf didn't look interesting either. It was still raining heavily outside, so the window didn't show its usually amazing view. A beautifully carved clock ticked away the seconds with the uneasy feeling growing with every tick.

The blue Toa looked over at her companion. If Nuju felt the way she did, he didn't show it. He simply stood there with his usual patient look, waiting for the Turaga to finish reading Matau's report. The Turaga himself was sitting in a large chair behind his desk looking stressed, but that was normal. Even after six months of restoration the city was still falling apart and as Turaga, he had to deal with all of that.

Finally, Turaga Dume lifted his eyes from the tablet to look at the two Toa. "Lizard thieves?" he asked incredulously.

Toa Nuju nodded and Toa Nokama, relieved to have something to do, answered. "Yes, sir. Matau's been getting these reports for a while now. We believe it's worth looking into."

"Toa Matau? Well, that would explain the horrendous writing," Dume muttered to himself. To the Toa he posed the question, "Are you sure this isn't some kind of joke? It wouldn't be the first time Toa Matau's pulled a prank."

"I don't think so, sir," Nuju said, speaking for the first time. "He was out in the cold wind and the rain gathering these reports, all on top of a cold. If this is a prank, he's suffering miserably for it."

Dume nodded and thought for a bit. "And he really is sick?"

Both Toa nodded enthusiastically.

"Very well," the Turaga relented. "You have my permission to go after these . . . creatures. Is there anything you need from me?"

"Onewa and Whenua decided the best time to go after the lizards would be during the Great Contest," Nokama explained. "We think that if no Matoran are around they're more likely to come out of hiding."

"The Matoran will be disappointed, but . . . alright; I'll explain you can't come. Is there anything else?"

Nokama shook her head, but Nuju stepped forward and said, "Onewa wants to know who's going to be in charge of this mission.

"You _still_ haven't chosen a new leader?"

The Ice Toa shrugged, looking uncomfortable and Nokama simply looked at her feet.

Dume sighed. "You can't keep switching leaders every time a mission comes up. It was alright as a temporary fix but sooner or later you'll need to replace the part. Now, I know none of you wants to step into Vakama's place, but one of you is going to have to."

_No one could step into Vakama's place,_ Nokama thought, but she said nothing.

A discontented silence filled the Turaga's office until Dume waved a hand dismissively. "You may leave now," he said. "I have work to do. The Onu and Ko-Matoran are fighting again and I have to make peace between them."

"Thank you for your time, Turaga," Nokama said.

Dume nodded his acknowledgment, picking up another tablet and examining its content. The two Toa Metru bowed and left.

--------------------------------

"Whad do you bean I can'd come-joid? This is my Medru! _My_ Madoran,_my_ respodzabilidy!"

"Wow, 'responsibility', that's a new word for you!" Onewa said, unfazed, not taking his eyes off the map of Le-Metru.

Matau growled and slapped his hands on the table, causing the map to ruffle a bit. "I'b dark-serious!" he yelled.

"We know you are," Whenua said calmly. "But it wouldn't be practical. You're sick and need rest."

"Plus, we don't want a sneeze giving away our position," added Onewa.

"I'll ged bedder!"

"Nope."

"Come on! Please?"

"No."

" . . . preddy please?"

"I said 'no'."

"Why nod?"

"Matau!" Onewa yelled, looking up for the first time. "I'm not changing my mind. You stay behind or I'll use my mask and make you. Now, go away. Whenua and I are working."

Matau frowned, but obediently walked away over to one of the chairs and sat down, sulking.

"Now," the brown Toa continued, turning his gaze back to the map. "These two points are where there have been the most sightings. I would suggest two traps, but I don't want to split up the team, especially since we're one number short."

"You wouldn'd be if you'd led me come!" Matau called.

Onewa ignored him. The Stone Toa pointed to the point closest to the ocean. "I say we set up the trap here."

"But most of the thieving reports have been over here," the Toa of Earth pointed out, indicating the other site.

"Right, but I'm thinking that they'd be on alert when they're thieving. Also, most of the sightings have been here, suggesting they come and go here a lot. It might even be close to their base."

"Okay . . . I think I see your point."

"So it's agreed."

"I say yes, but we should wait to ask Nuju and Nokama."

"Ask us what?" Nokama inquired, entering the room, followed by Nuju.

"Dokama! Onewa won'd led me come!" Matau immediately complained.

"Ignore him," Onewa advised.

"We've decided on the place we'll set up the trap," clarified Whenua. "What do you think?" He handed her the map, pointing to the location.

Nokama shrugged. "Looks fine to me," she said, passing it on to Nuju.

"Did Dume give permission?" Onewa asked.

"Yes. Now, what's Matau unhappy about?"

"Onewa won'd led me come on my own miss . . .miss . . . ACHOO!!" Matau sneezed violently. "Mission," he ended.

"Well, I wouldn't either. You're sick, Matau. You should get better."

The Toa of Air groaned and dramatically threw his head back as Onewa smirked.

"Alright! Now that that's settled, here's the plan . . ."

No one heard Matau sadly mumble, "Fire-spidder would have led me come . . ."

----------------------------------

"_Is the trap ready?_"

"_Yes, leader. The trap is as you said. All we have to do is wait._"

The giant lizard smiled, revealing a row of very sharp teeth. "_Good. Then we'll wait._" He looked into the room where the five Toa were discussing their plans. "_It's their move now._"

-------------------------------

Several days later the Toa Metru met at the Moto-Hub in Le-Metru, ready to begin their ambush. The place was full of busy Le-Matoran, hurrying to finish their work before the Great Contest began. The Toa had moved to a corner to be out of the way, but even so, found themselves surrounded by the rushing green Matoran.

"I had no idea this place got so busy!" Nokama said loudly in order to be heard.

"Well, it's the center of transport. They have to be fast in order to keep Metru Nui moving," Whenua yelled back. "I just had no idea it was so loud!"

"Remind me never to come here again!" Nuju added miserably. Nokama felt sorry for the Toa of Ice: he looked as if he was really suffering. He had closed his eyes and was continually rubbing his forehead.

"You okay?" she asked.

"No, my head is killing me. This was a stupid place to meet! There are way too many people here!"

"Well, as soon as Onewa arrives, we can leave."

The Toa of Ice nodded, not opening his eyes.

Fortunately, they didn't have to wait long. A couple of minutes later they spotted the brown Toa trying to step maneuver between the hustling Matoran. He carefully made his way over to his fellow Toa. "This is ridiculous!" he yelled. "How do they keep from running into each other?"

"Who cares? Let's just go," Nuju quickly said, already moving towards the exit.

"Matau's not coming to see us off?" Nokama asked Onewa, both following Nuju as quickly as they could.

"No, he's still sulking," the Stone Toa explained, lifting his foot to allow a line of Matoran through. "Mata Nui, I'm going to accidentally step on one of them if they're not careful!"

Nokama laughed as the two Toa finally made it out of the Moto-Hub. Nuju was waiting for them, his attention focused on something inside the building. When Whenua made it out and he still didn't move, the Water Toa approached him.

"Nuju, are you okay?" she asked. The Ice Toa jumped a little and turned, refocusing his lens-eye on her. Nokama frowned; Nuju wasn't one to startle easily. "Nuju?"

"I'm fine," he said. "I just thought I saw . . . never mind, let's go."

"Wait, what did you think you saw?"

"Nothing." With that said, the white Toa turned away and followed the already moving Onewa.

---------------------------------

Nokama's head turned slightly at the sound of distant horns, signaling the beginning of the Great Contest. The sound echoed around the abandoned buildings, followed by distant cheers that quickly died out, leaving the empty Metru silent once more. The Water Toa shuddered involuntarily. _A Metru isn't supposed to be this silent_, she thought. She hadn't heard this kind of silence since the Visorak invasion, when all of the Matoran were asleep in canisters beneath the Coliseum. Of course, the city had been in much worse shape then: buildings had crumbled, vehicles smashed, and Visorak webs making the Metru look more like a jungle than before. Now the buildings had been reconstructed and the only 'webs' were the cables that lay everywhere in the Metru, even in the street, causing the Toa to stumble every so often. Even so, like when the Visorak ran free in the city, she couldn't shake the feeling something was watching her.

"You feel it too, don't you?" asked Nuju, walking beside his sister.

Nokama turned. "Feel what?"

"Eyes. Something watching us."

"How . . . how did you know?"

"Because something is."

The Water Toa stared at her brother for a moment. He continued.

"I saw them first back at the Moto-Hub. But I dismissed it, thinking it was the crowd of Le-Matoran playing tricks on my eyes. But then I found out Whenua had seen them too."

Nokama felt her eyes grow wide. "Nuju, what exactly did you see?" she asked softly.

"The Lizards are following us," he whispered back. "No, don't turn your head. Onewa's been informed and he says he doesn't want them knowing we know just yet. Just keep walking like everything's normal."

Making a conscious effort not to look around, Nokama asked, "I asked you if you saw anything before. Why didn't you tell me then?"

"Like I said, I thought they weren't real. It's actually quite impressive how good they are at hiding. I had to use my lens just to get a shadow and Whenua's had to use his mask to get any glimpse. We're not sure, but we think they're using some sort of camouflage to blend in with the surroundings."

"What do you mean?"

"Whenua says there are certain types of Rahi that can appear as their surroundings. I don't quite understand it myself, but I get the basic idea. They take the pattern of their surroundings and use it to hide themselves . . . I think."

"So . . . what do we do? Does Onewa have a plan?"

"Of a sort," the white Toa said, frowning. "He wants us to keep walking and to see what they do. To let them make the first move."

Nokama blinked. "Is he sure of that?" she asked. "That doesn't sound like the best course to me."

Nuju nodded and narrowed his eyes, his frown turning into a scowl. "Especially now that they've got us surrounded."

"What?!" Nokama whispered, hardly believing her ears.

"Onewa's being a fool, and like a fool, he's not listening to reason. He says he wants the element of surprise on _our_ side, but I don't think it's going to turn out that way."

"This is insane!" the Water Toa exclaimed, still whispering. "Someone has to go and talk sense into him."

"He's too busy playing leader."

"But he's going to get us all killed! I'm going to go talk to him. I'll make him understaaAAAH!" Nokama screamed as her right foot was yanked from under her. She hit the ground hard and was then lifted up and found herself dangling several bios off the ground.

"Nokama!" Nuju exclaimed and took out his ice crystals, only to find the same thing happen to him.

Seeing this, Whenua and Onewa, who had previously been talking together, ran off in opposite directions, but to no avail. They also had ropes of cable tighten around their ankles and the Toa were lifted off the ground. The Toa hung there for a moment, struggling against the cable, but it was no use. The knots were tight and the cord thick.

"_MECK AG TOH!"_ rose a harsh, gravelly voice, soon echoed by others. Nokama twisted around, trying to see their captors. She didn't have to wait long. They seemed to melt out of the shadows, first only a few, then steadily in more increasing amounts. Her eyes widened as one came up and thrust a spear in front of her face.

"Fools," it muttered in a rough voice. Then the Water Toa felt someone hit the back of her head and everything went black.

-----------------------------------

"_Meck ag toh, Kar."_

"_Toh ix uckar?"_

"_Kek, Kar."_

"_Ohg."_

Nokama opened her eyes, slowly. She blinked, trying to clear her vision, and immediately looked for her brothers. They were all to her right, bound by cables around their ankles and torsos. Whenua looked to be awake, but Onewa and Nuju were still unconscious. The Toa of Earth looked in her direction, saw her open eyes, and looked relieved. 'You okay?' he mouthed. Nokama nodded. 'You?' she mouthed back. He nodded also. Satisfied that her team wasn't in immediate danger, Nokama turned to get a good look at her captors. She drew a deep breath in at the sight.

There were three Lizards in the small room where the Toa were being kept. They were tall and wore shirts, vests, and pants, but no shoes. The hands seemed to have four clawed fingers and the feet had three clawed toes. Both extremities were scaled like lizards and were rather large, especially the feet. They also had long tails that waved patiently as they talked. The neck was elongated and had a large, folded frill near the jaw line. The face was like that of a snake, long with large eyes, slits for noses, and small ears.

Two of the Lizards held large spears, a little taller than the Lizards themselves, decorated with colorful bird feathers and beads. The third wore a cloak in addition to the regular clothes and held no spear. As Nokama watched, the Lizard with the cloak spotted her._"Leck ix sahk. Ter ma sen."_

The two with spears, guards, supposed Nokama, turned and were immediately at the ready, weapons leveled to the Toa's face, their frill expanding threateningly. The cloaked Lizard walked up to the blue Toa and squatted, looking the Water Toa in the eye. Much to Nokama's horror, the Lizard's knees bent backwards. To stop her stomach churning, Nokama focused instead on the Lizard's face. In the dim light provided by a single light stone, its scales appeared to be a grayish blue color. Its eyes were large and gold, the pupils slitted, and seemed to hold a kind of amused triumph.

"You are fools," the Lizard said with a heavy accent.

"You speak Matoran," Nokama replied, unable to think of anything better to say.

The Lizard tilted its head dramatically, giving it a confused look. "Matoran? Ah, the little ones. We speak little of your language," it admitted. "But I speak enough to talk with you. Are you leader?"

Nokama looked over at Whenua, who shrugged. "No, but I will represent our leader," she said, turning back to the Lizard.

"Good enough," it replied. "I am Mecktor, leader of the Lackertila."

"I am Nokama, Toa of Water. Perhaps you could untie me and we can talk somewhere."

Mecktor shook his long head. "No. Too dangerous. Toa, means 'warrior,' no? You are warrior. Warrior fight. Much less risky to talk like this."

Nokama nodded, seeing his point. "Alright," she said. "We'll talk like this."

Mecktor smiled, revealing long, pointed teeth. "Good," he said. "Glad you not make difficult. To point: we want—" But the leader was interrupted by another lizard — no, Lackertila, Nokama reminded herself — bursting the room.

"_Kar! Mer, tulick na, lai Gack ix . . . kell, mehk ix trapoh, _arpnar_,"_ the Lackertila panted.

"_Arpnar_?" Mecktor asked, standing and walking over to the newcomer, tail waving agitatedly. _"Hult ag Gack dom ken?"_

The messenger looked uncomfortable. _"Mehk lahg coke."_

"_Nix dom?"_

"_Nix toh garne."_

At this, Mecktor gave out a hissing laugh. "My regrets, Toa Nokama," he said, turning back to the Water Toa. "But it looks though you not as foolish as first appear. One of my warriors is caught in your trap. You very clever, make very clever trap. Need me to get him out. We talk later." He gave a surprisingly graceful bow then left with the messenger. The door gave a dull thud as it closed.

"Please tell me his legs weren't bending backwards."

Nokama turned to look at Nuju who was looking paler that usual.

"They were," she said in reply. "Sorry."

The Toa of Ice grimaced, staring at the door where the Lackertila leader had left.

"Someone want to inform me on what's going on?"

The Toa of Water leaned forward a bit to see past Nuju to see Onewa, who was awakening. "We were captured by the Lackertila," she said.

"Your brilliant plan failed," Nuju added sourly.

"Nuju, please, let's not argue now," Nokama pleaded, but it was too late.

"Well, I didn't see you coming up with anything better," the Stone Toa retorted.

"I would have with time. Unlike you, I think of the consequences before I take action."

"I thought of the consequences!"

"Not enough! If you had listened to me instead of trying to be the all-mighty leader, we might not be in this situation."

"For the last time, I'm not trying to be the all-mighty leader! I'm just trying to protect Metru Nui!"

"No, you're trying to be Vakama!"

Everything went quiet for a moment, even the guards, who seemed to be listening with light curiosity. Then, making a point to ignore the Ice Toa's comment, Onewa said, "Well, wasn't that a fun little argument. Now, if you will stop squawking like a Gukku bird, I might be able to think of a plan to escape."

"I don't see how that's possible, especially seeing as a Gukku bird's smarter than you are," Nuju commented icily.

"You wanna say that again, _scholar_?" Onewa seethed, the stones around him starting to tremble.

"Bring it on, _rock-smasher,_" the Ice Toa replied, the air around him dropping in temperature.

"Oh, will you two _shut up_?" Whenua yelled. Everyone stopped and turned to the usually quiet Toa of Earth, wide-eyed. "I'm so sick of your squabbling! You sound like Matoran fighting over who lost the disk! Is this the way a Toa's supposed to behave?" The black Toa took a couple of deep breaths while everyone stared. "You two are a disgrace to Toa Lhikan's name," he finished. Whenua then deliberately turned his back upon his brothers.

Even the Lackertila guards were silent as the black Toa's words sunk in. After a few minutes of excruciating silence the guards began talking amongst themselves once more, leaving the Toa to their thoughts. _Is this what we've become? Squabbling amongst ourselves at every chance? Onewa's right: we do need a leader_, Nokama thought.

"I . . . still don't quite get what's going on," Onewa finally commented, his voice low and quiet.

"The Lackertila, the Lizard people, captured us," Nokama explained, also quietly. "Their leader, Mecktor, was here earlier. I don't think they mean us harm. They just seem to want to talk."

"Yet we're kept prisoners."

"He's afraid we'd try to fight. Plus, we did try to capture them first."

Onewa nodded. "Alright. Nokama, I assume you're the one who talked to this . . . Mecktor."

"Yes. He approached me first. I told him I'd represent the leader," Nokama said, choosing her words carefully.

"Good. You'd be best at talking to them. Do you think they'd let us send a message through to Matau and Dume?"

"I don't think so. They'd probably think we were sending for reinforcements."

The Stone Toa nodded once more and there was another period of silence.

"Nokama, can you understand what they're saying?" Whenua finally asked.

"I could try to use my mask. Why, do you want me to?"

"Yes, if you would. I want to see if we can get any hints as to why we're here."

"What do you mean?" Nokama asked.

"Onewa's right. If they wanted to negotiate, we wouldn't be held prisoner. I think there's more to the Lackertila than they're letting on."

The Water Toa shrugged, but nodded and activated her mask. The Kanohi Rau started to glow faintly. Her brothers watched their sister intently as her face scrunched in concentration.

"Well? Can you understand them?" Onewa asked, unable to wait any longer.

"I . . . almost, yeah," Nokama answered distractedly. "Their language is so simple it's complicated."

"Huh?"

"They have fewer words in their language than we do, but because of that each word has numerous meanings. I'm . . . having trouble telling which meaning they're using. The meaning of a word all depends on the way you say it and where you put it in a sentence. But I think I get the gist of their conversation."

"Which is?" Whenua asked.

"They're talking about . . . what they're going to . . . no, wait . . . decorate? No, it's change. They're talking about how they're going to change the city."

"What? That doesn't make sense."

"Let me listen more."

The male Toa waited patiently as the Water Toa listened intently. "No, it's no good," she concluded, turning off her mask. "They changed topics. They're talking about dinner now."

"Actually, dinner doesn't sound bad," mumbled Whenua, his stomach grumbling in agreement. "Do you think they'll give us something to eat?"

"Probably. But, Nokama, I think we should figure out what's going on. If I make one of the guards ask about their plans, do you think you could translate the other's reply?" asked Onewa.

Nokama nodded. "Yes, I think so. I'm starting to get the hang of their language."

Agreed on a plan, both Toa activated their masks. Onewa was soon focusing as hard as Nokama to control a guard's mind. The mind of the Lackertila was as confusing as their language, but he managed to make the guard talk.

"_So, do you get what we're doing here? I'm a little confused."_

The second guard turned and replied, Nokama translating out loud for the stone Toa's benefit. "_That was a change in_ (. . . uh,)_topic_(, I guess)."

Onewa made the first guard shrug. _"I'm just a little confused, is all."_

Guard two looked suspicious, then shook his head and answered. "_I can't believe you don't know. Mecktor's told us about twenty_(?)_times. We're here for the island. Now that the warriors _(they mean us, I think) _are out of our way, we'll be able to grab _(no, sorry,) take _the island and make it our home."_

"_Why this island?"_

"_Were you listening at all? It's the most like home and the people here are weak: we can take it easily."_

"_The people here don't seem that weak."_

"_You joking? Look how easily we caught their warriors! Besides, this is a nice place. Warm weather, like home. And look at all the food here! We will have very good hunting. They even caught some of the animals for us."_

"If they dare harm the Rahi in the Archives—" Whenua started, but was cut off by a 'Shush!' from Nuju.

"_Yes, but why not go home?"_

"_Have you gone crazy? If you want to fight those invaders, go ahead. I don't want to be killed. What's wrong with you today,_ (uh, I think it's a name) _Recknor? You were in favor of leaving."_

"_Uh, so I was. I was just . . . uh," _Onewa stumbled, panicking and loosing control. The second guard took his spear and hit Recknor over the head with it, the shock causing the Toa of Stone to lose control completely.

"_What's wrong with you?"_ asked the second guard, as the first Lackertila rubbed his head.

"_Ow! What's wrong with _you, _Ornack?" _Recknor asked, irritably. _"Why'd you hit me?"_

"_Because you were asking stupid questions!" _Ornack replied.

"_What are you talking about? I didn't say anything!"_

"_Yes you were! You were asking why we came here."_

"_Uh, no, I wasn't."_

"_I heard you!"_

"_. . . I remember saying something . . . but I didn't want to . . . I don't know. My mind is all confused. I have an awful headache. It feels like someone's squeezing my head."_

"_Hey, are the warrior's faces supposed to be glowing?"_

"_What?"_The guards turned to look at the Toa, Nokama still translating and Onewa trying to regain control, both their masks glowing faintly.

"_I think I know why you were acting strange," _Onrack said, eyes narrowing and his frill expanding, making him look rather frightening. Suddenly, so fast that he looked like a blur, Onrack ran to Nokama and struck her face with his clawed hand. Lightning danced across her vision as Nokama's head swung to the side with the force of the hit and smashed into the wall.

"_What are you doing, warrior? Tell us or I'll strike you again!" _the Lackertila hissed, gripping his spear tightly, posed to strike again.

"Leave her alone, lizard!" Whenua yelled, he and the other Toa struggling against their bonds.

"Touch her again and you're dead!" Onewa growled. Nuju said nothing but gave the guards one of his famed death glares.

But the guards ignored all these threats. _"Well?"_

"_We . . . we were only trying to find out . . . what you wanted,"_ Nokama replied through the pain, spitting out the blood in her mouth. Her eyes snapped open as she realized she hadn't deactivated her mask and she was talking in their language.

The guards' eyes widened. _"They don't know our language! How is she doing that?" _asked Recknor.

"_Tell us!"_ Onrack demanded of Nokama and when she didn't answer, he dealt another blow to the Water Toa with his spear this time, knocking the female unconscious. A thin trickle of blood ran down the side of Nokama's mask as she slumped against the wall.

"Alright, that's _it_," Onewa said. "We warned you!"

The ground began to tremble and a column of stone erupted under Onrack, smashing the unlucky Lackertila into the ceiling. The column then dropped the guard back to the ground where Whenua had a spot of quicksand ready to catch him. Recknor's frills opened dramatically and he gave out a piercing scream seeing what happened to his comrade, then rushed the closest Toa who happened to be Nuju. The Ice Toa narrowed his eyes and a layer of ice spread across the floor, causing the running Lackertila to lose balance and wave his arms wildly about to keep from falling. Then, thanks to his mask of telekinesis, Nuju lifted a rock and made it fly at the lizard's head. The rock hit its target with a satisfying 'thunk' and the Lackertila fell to the floor, unconscious.

"I say this concludes negotiations," Onewa commented.

--------------------------------

When Mecktor heard what had happened to his warriors who had been guarding the Toa, the leader of the Lackertila was not happy. Not happy at all. Mecktor ground his teeth as the messenger told him the news about his guards. They were both alive, but Onrack had a good half of his bones broken and Recknor had a mild concussion.

"_It appears the Toa are not as weak as we thought," _he commented. Actually, he was quite impressed. The Toa had managed to take out two of his better warriors while bound in cables. It rather disturbed him and put him in a difficult position: what to do with the Toa now. He couldn't release them, especially now that he knew how much of a threat they were. But how could he hold them here when they could injure his people without moving?

He flinched as he heard a smashing sound behind him. _"Gack, that had better not be something valuable that you just broke,"_ he warned his warrior.

The Lackertila were not known for their intelligence, but Gack was considered stupid even among his own people. He was also very, _very_ annoying. The yellow colored lizard was young and got into trouble more often than he ate, but his talent for camouflage made him useful. He was the one who had gotten caught in the Toa's trap and Mecktor had to rescue him. It had taken him a long time to get Gack out and Mecktor had since resolved to keep an eye on him, but it seemed even that wasn't enough,

"_Uh, it was a clay pot with a pattern of birds on it. Was that valuable?"_ Gack asked, bending down and starting to pick up the larger pieces of broken pottery.

Mecktor sighed. _"It was a gift, but no, not that valuable."_

Gack smiled, relieved.

The leader of the Lackertila rolled his eyes and turned back to the problem at hand: the Toa.

"_What are you thinking about?"_

Mecktor looked up to find the young warrior looking curiously over the leader's shoulder. _"The Toa," _he replied._ "Why don't you go do something useful?"_

"_They're the ones who hurt Onrack and Recknor?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Oh. Trying to find someone else to guard them?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Is it a difficult decision?"_

"_Actually, yes. Why don't you leave me to think so I can decide?"_

"_Want me to give you some tips?"_

"_Gack, why don't you go and sharpen you spear. Go, go!"_ Mecktor said, shooing the yellow Lackertila away. Gack stood in the doorway, shrugged, and then got an idea.

"_Can I go explore?"_ he asked, knowing now would be the best time to ask. If Mecktor was distracted, he was less likely to actually hear what was being asked and more likely to say yes.

"_Yes, yes, what ever you want. Just let me work,_" the bluish Lackertila said, confirming Gack's theory. Gack smiled and eagerly set off to explore the city.

He had only been allowed out to explore once before. But after being seen by five different Matoran, he was told not to stray from the base. The base was incredibly boring, being a set of abandoned warehouses near the sea. As Gack exited the building and took a deep breath of air, he smiled and set off at a run, sinking into the shadows as he did so.

Ever since he was little, Gack knew he had a talent for camouflage. It had always been easy for him to do and he could change faster than any of the other warriors. This perhaps made him a bit arrogant but it also made him valuable. He was also a fast and silent runner and had good eyesight. The only thing he was missing was intelligence. But even so, when he saw the tall green figure sneaking towards the Lackertila base, he knew something was wrong and turned to follow him.

------------------------------

Moonlight streamed into the small room, illuminating the stone walls and dirt floor with silver light. The Toa were in the shadows, but anyone could see that they were all worried.

"She's still not awake?"

Onewa shook his head. "No. Do you think she's seriously hurt?"

"Even if she is, there isn't much more we can do," Nuju said. He was currently using his mask and ice power to keep some ice on the Water Toa's head. He shifted the ice slightly as he said, "What we should do is get out of here."

"Yeah, but how?" Whenua asked.

"How aboud you say please?" someone said from above.

The three Toa craned their necks to look at the window above their heads. There, smiling down at them, was Matau, looking much better than when they had last seen him.

"You look better," Whenua said, smiling.

"Yep. I heal ever-fasd."

Nuju looked up as the Toa of Air coughed quietly. "But you're still sick."

"Yes, bud well enough to come afder you."

"But, how-why are you here?" Onewa asked.

Matau's smile faded. "I came do dalk about the Akilini match. Whad do you think? Dume send me to save-rescue you of course!" He then frowned. "Whad's wrong with Nokama?"

"One of the lizards hit her," Onewa replied. "Anyway, hurry up and get us out."

Matau nodded and turned on the tool, and a short, thin, but very hot flame erupting from the top. Then he set about putting the flame to the bars on the window, the heat cutting through the metal. "She's unconscious?" he asked, successfully cutting through the top of first bar. He started on the bottom.

"Yes, and she hasn't woken up yet."

"Alright. Well, here's the thought-plan. Once I'm done cutting these bars, I'll toss down a rope. You'll climb up and creep-crawl out this window, then we'll go ever-quick to the Coliseum, make a plan, then attack the lizards."

"Will we fit through the window?" Whenua asked.

"If not, Onewa can make it bigger, right?"

"I guess," Onewa mumbled. "But what about Nokama?"

Matau paused about that. "Uh . . . ."

"I'll use my mask to get her out," Nuju said.

"What about our bonds?" Onewa asked.

"I'll come down and untie you," Matau answered.

"Alright, so we have a plan. How long till you're done with those bars?"

"Almost . . . done!" the green Toa exclaimed. He then took out the bars, setting them aside, and put away the heating tool and took out rope. "Here." Tossing down one end he started to tie the other end to a pole. "Darn," he muttered as his knot slipped.

"Don't bother."

Matau slowly raised his head to find himself surrounded by about five giant lizards with spears, all their weapons pointed at him.

"Come," one of them said. Matau dared not disobey.

------------------------------------

_Nokama looked around. She couldn't tell where she was. It looked like a glade of some kind surrounded by dark, misty trees. 'I must be dreaming,' she thought. She sat down and waited, for what she wasn't sure. She sat there for quite some time in silence, for there wasn't any sound in this dream. But she was in no rush and it was very peaceful. Eventually she heard soft steps coming from the forest._

_A familiar Fire Toa wearing a Kanohi Huna entered the clearing. Nokama beamed. "Vakama!" she called. Vakama looked over and smiled. The Water Toa stood up and walked over to her friend, giving him a hug. "I'm so glad you here," she said._

"_Me too," he said, hugging her back. "I've missed you."_

"_I've missed you too." She sighed. "We haven't been very good Toa, I'm afraid."_

"_You'll get better," he assured. "You just need more experience."_

_Nokama shook her head. "I don't think we can be good Toa without you. Since you left everyone's just been fighting. I've tried by best to keep everyone together but we just keep falling apart."_

"_I know, but that will stop soon. You guys will soon realize that you can manage without me. Now, listen," Vakama said, pulling away. "The Matoran are in danger. You need to stop the threat."_

"_But we don't have a plan."_

_Vakama smiled. "Well, we usually didn't, but it always worked out in the end. You just need to think fast and work together." He gently brushed her face. "You're smart, Nokama, you'll think of something. Now it's time for you to go."_

"_But I don't want to. I want to stay with you."_

_Vakama hugged her again. "I know, I want to stay here too, but we both have to leave."_

"_. . . When will I see you again?" _

"_That I don't know. But I will see you again, okay?"_

"_Promise?"_

"_I promise."_

_Nokama nodded and everything around her began to fade._

_--------------------------------------- _

Nokama slowly opened her eyes. She felt as if a herd of Kikanalo was rampaging in her head. There was a certain place on the left that hurt the most but thankfully some one had a chunk of ice on it.

"She's awake!" someone said.

"Hey, are you okay?" another asked.

The Water Toa slowly blinked a couple of times and looked at her brothers. They were all watching intently, all more worried than she had seen them in a long time. She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine," she assured them. "I've got an awful headache though."

Her brothers all let out a sigh of relief and she heard Onewa mutter, "Thank Mata Nui." But still they looked worried.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Matau came and tried to rescue us while you were unconscious," Whenua explained. "But he got caught. The Lackertila took him somewhere, but that was about half an hour ago."

Nokama nodded and looked at the room. There was a different set of guards than she remembered and they were talking amongst themselves. Concentrating in spite of her headache, the Toa of Water activated her mask.

"What are you doing?" Nuju demanded.

"I'm going to see if they're talking about Matau. We might be able to find out where he is."

"You just woke up from a head injury. You shouldn't be doing anything strenuous."

"Besides, what happens if they find you doing this again?" Whenua added.

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

"Well, I'm not willing to take it," Onewa said, sternly. "I forbid you from doing it. I'll use my mask if necessary."

Nokama looked at her brothers and said calmly, "While I was unconscious, I had a dream. Vakama came to me and said that the city was in danger and that we needed to act in his absence. Well, I'm going to act. We need to know their plan and the only way to do that is to listen to their conversation. As long as we don't interfere, I think we can get away with it."

When none of her brothers objected, Nokama turned and activated her mask. "They're talking about . . . they're angry with us. They keep mentioning someone named Onrack and Recknor . . . they say that you guys really hurt them! Apparently Mecktor is very angry and Matau's coming has only made him more enraged. They're planning to . . . ." Here Nokama trailed off and became very pale.

"What?" Nuju asked. "What is it?"

"We need to get out of here. NOW," Nokama replied, deactivating her mask and desperately struggling with her bonds.

"Why? What did they say?" asked Onewa, a feeling of dread growing inside of him. "Nokama?"

"They're planning to take Metru Nui. But, it's not just that; they're planning to kill the inhabitants, all of them! And we're the first to go!"

But at that moment the door to the room opened and two Lackertila came in dragging a very beat up Matau.

"Matau!" Nokama exclaimed. The guards unsympathetically dropped the green Toa to the floor where Matau cringed. He was heavily bruised and was even bleeding in some places.

Mecktor entered the room followed by a yellowish Lackertila as the guards bound Matau and placed him next to Nokama.

"You Toa are very foolish," Mecktor stated. "You underestimate Lackertila. We not smart, but we very good hunters. Gack see the green one trying to rescue you."

The yellow Lackertila grinned but faltered as he received glares from all the Toa.

"You underestimate us, Mecktor," Nokama said to the leader.

"I think not. The green one said you are all the warriors. We bind you tight and leave you here. With you not in way, we take island easily."

"But why take Metru Nui?" Whenua asked

Mecktor swished his tale, considering the Toa's question. He finally answered, "Our island was warm forest, lots of water and good hunting. Lackertila very happy there. Each tribe kept to themselves and there was no need for fighting. It was heaven, as you say. One year past, group of strangers came to our home island. Tall, dark warriors called Dark Hunters who cut and burn the trees, kill animals, and hunted us. We try to talk, but no good. They wanted island for resources and they wanted us dead. We try to fight but they better warriors. We forced to flee for our lives. Since, we have trained and used our hunting skills to fight. But we never good enough to win against Dark Hunters. We have no home. Slowly, we have begun to die. We need land to hunt in. We have searched and found this island. We like it here, reminds us of home."

"I'm sure we could come to some sort of agreement," Onewa said.

Mecktor shook his head. "No. We tried. But I have finally learned, Toa. You no different from Dark Hunters. Everyone is mean to Lackertila. Call us freaks, stupid Rahi. If Lackertila to have home, we must fight for it. If need to kill all inhabitants, then so be it." He then turned to his warriors. _"Vacka! Eck ix garnim!" _The warriors nodded and moved out of the room.

"_Mecktor, hult meck?"_

Mecktor turned to look at the yellowish lizard called Gack and smiled. _"Tehck ultar toh."_

Gack grinned and nodded enthusiastically. _"Kek, Kar!"_

With that, Mecktor took out a large saber he had in his belt and left the room, closing the door behind him. Only Gack remained. He went to the far corner and sat down, placing his spear before him and watching the Toa intently.

"Matau, are you okay?" Nokama asked, looking the battered Toa over carefully.

He gave her a half-hearted smile. "Ha. You do care." Then he frowned. "I hurd an awful lod, bud I don'd think there's anything serious. Whad aboud you? You okay?"

Nokama nodded and smiled reassuringly. "I'm fine. I'm more worried about you, that beating on top of a cold."

Matau shrugged, leaned back and closed his eyes. "I jusd hope we ged oud of here soon. I really hurd."

"We'll get out soon. We'll get out and stop the Lackertila."

Matau nodded and sneezed loudly, moaning loudly afterwards.

"_Hult ix uckar mehk?" _exclaimed Gack. Nokama turned to see the Lackertila back on his feet, looking rather frightened.

"Whad?" asked Matau. Then to himself he muttered, "Oh man, I can'd reach my handkerchief."

Gack blinked then said to himself, "_Ken tray. Toh sep lent pahck._ Um, what it is?" he asked in patchy Matoran, pointing to Matau.

"_We can talk like this, if you like,_" Nokama said, activating her mask.

Again, Gack jumped, and then slowly nodded. _"That's right; Mecktor said you could talk like us. What's wrong with him?"_ Gack asked, once more pointing to Matau.

"_Besides the fact you beat him up?"_

Gack grimaced, and shifted his feet sheepishly. _"Yes. Why did he explode?"_

"_What? He didn't explode,"_ Nokama laughed.

"Why do I ged the feeling they're laughing ad me?" Matau mumbled.

"_Yes he did!"_ Gack insisted. _"He made a great sound!"_

"_Oh, you mean he sneezed."_

"_What is sneezed?"_

"_You know a sneeze. Your body does it to clear your nose."_

"_Why would it do that?"_

"_Because Matau, that's his name, has a cold."_

"_He's cold? I could get him a blanket."_

Nokama couldn't help but smile a bit. _"No, he's got a cold. It's a sickness. Don't the Lackertila get sick?"_

"_Not often. We get the forehead heat. But no . . . colds."_ Gack paused. _"Is it . . . fatal?"_

Nokama was about to laugh again, when something from her dream came into her mind. 'Well, we usually didn't have plans, but it always worked out in the end. You just need to think fast,' Vakama had said to her. _Maybe if I think fast, I can use Gack's lack of knowledge to my advantage_, she thought to herself. Then the Water Toa smiled secretly to herself: had a plan. _"Yes, it's very deadly,"_ she lied, looking very serious. _"We don't expect Matau to live more than two more days. That's why we call it a cold: you turn dead cold."_

Much to Nokama's pleasure, Gack's eyes widened dramatically and he backed into the wall. "_Is . . . is it contagious?" _he gulped.

Nokama nodded gravely. _"Oh yes, very. We think Nuju, the white one, has it too."_ It was true too. Nuju was looking a little red around the eyes and right on cue, he coughed violently.

"Oh great," Nuju mumbled. "Matau, if you got me sick, I'll kill you."

"Sorry," the green Toa mumbled, sniffing.

"_And . . . h-how does one get a c-cold?"_ Gack stuttered, looking pale and edging fearfully towards the door.

"_It's in the sneeze. If someone infected sneezes on you, you get it,_" Nokama said dramatically, quite enjoying herself.

The yellow lizard jumped violently as another Lackertila entered. _"What's wrong with you?"_ the new lizard asked.

This time Nokama did smile as Gack fearfully told the new guard about the cold disease. The new guard went wide eyed and the two frantically began talking about what to do.

"What did you say to them?" Onewa asked. "They look really frightened."

"Matau has a deadly disease called a cold. He won't live two more days."

"I won'd?" Matau asked.

"It's very contagious, passed on in the form of a sneeze," Nokama continued. "With luck, news of the cold will get around to Mecktor before he starts attacking the city."

"I don'd ged id."

"Oh, I get it!" Whenua said. "You're scaring them! If they think there's some sort of plague going around, they'll leave!"

Nokama nodded and smiled at her brothers. "Keep sneezing, Matau."

--------------------------------

News of the Cold Plague spread through the Lackertila like fire on dry tinder. By the time it reached Mecktor it was an awful plague that caused you to suffocate then explode. Mecktor upon hearing this, rushed to the room where the Toa were being kept, followed by about seven warriors. He threw open the door and entered the room, jumping as the green one sneezed violently.

"Is true?" he asked the startled Toa. "He going to die and give us all colds?"

Onewa worked hard to keep from laughing. "Yes!" he said. "Please, let us out! I don't want to be in here! I might catch it!"

Whenua and Nokama also started begging to be released while Nuju played his part and began to get sicker and sicker. The Lackertila were in near panic. Already many were saying they should leave as quickly as possible and others said that it was already too late; they were starting to feel funny. The frenzy spread and many Lackertila started packing even before Mecktor said to pack the boats. When Matau gave a large sneeze, Mecktor, Gack, and all the other Lackertila fled the room and total mayhem broke out.

The Toa laughed at the chaos around them. Through the rushing, no one noticed Nuju slip out of his bonds and untie the other Toa. Still laughing Whenua helped the ill Toa of Air to his feet, saying, "Gesundheit, Matau."

---------------------------------

The Toa watched the Lackertila ships sink into the suns set until they were black specks against the pink sky.

"Matau, why don't you give them a little push?" Onewa suggested.

Matau smiled and raised his arms, raising a breeze as he did. "Thad wind will dake them a good far-disdance," the air Toa said before sneezing.

"You know," Onewa said. "We didn't do too bad, defeating a whole race without even having to fight."

"This will be an interesting chapter in the chronicles," Whenua commented, laughing. "The Metru Nui saved by Matau's sneeze."

The others laughed and Nokama looked out into the sunset, feeling peaceful. _'You were right, Vakama'_ she thought. _'Things did turn out okay in the end. I only wish you could be here with us to see it . . .'_

_------------------------------------ _

Pridak looked at the shivering red Toa who was coming out of the ocean and shook his head sadly. _'He's going to take some work,_' the king thought to himself.

Ehlek found the fire Toa a couple of nights ago, half drowned and with no memory of who he was. Not his home, not his name, nothing, completely blank. The green Barraki saved the Toa and brought him to the other Barraki. He said they should keep the kid and see if they could train the young Toa. Kalmah, Takadox, Carapar, and Mantax had objected at first, but Pridak had seen something in the frightened young Fire Toa that even Ehlek didn't. The Toa was a fine young creature, capable of being a great warrior and Pridak could see he had a leader's spirit within him, even if the young Toa didn't know it yet. The northern king was determined to bring out that leader.

After much bickering and a little 'convincing' consisting of mostly whacks on the head dealt by the white Barraki, the ex-war lords decided to let the Toa stay. Today they were taking the Toa with a red Huna to the surface to see what he was capable of.

"Alright kid," Pridak said. "Let's see what you can do."

The young Toa shivered and nodded. He got ready to do something, then paused. The Barraki watched as the Toa's face contorted and then some of the old war lords jumped as the Toa sneezed loudly, fire spewing out of his mouth like some sort of dragon. As Takadox laughed at the startled Carapar and Kalmah tried to calm down his heart a bit, Ehlek walked over to the Toa, laughing.

The young fire Toa was coughing a bit of smoke, but seemed to be unharmed. "Gesundheit, Pyro," the green Barraki said, patting the Toa on the back. Pyro, unknowingly Vakama, smiled sheepishly back.

-Okay, so that last part wasn't really needed, but I felt bad for not writing anything about Vakama. So, last notes . . . um, well, go and read Saya's The Road Not Taken, and leave me a review and tell me what you think of this story!


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